Edutech Booms in the Contactless Era... Woongjin ThinkBig Sales Surge

Leading Smart Education Since 2014, Acquired 19 AI Education Technology Patents
Growth in Membership and Sales Amid Increased Remote Education Due to COVID-19

Woongjin ThinkBig

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Woongjin ThinkBig is continuing its growth by proactively responding to the demand for non-face-to-face education amid the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in an increase in AI education membership and sales growth.

Woongjin ThinkBig recorded cumulative sales of 482.4 billion KRW and an operating profit of 12.1 billion KRW in the third quarter of this year (consolidated basis). According to securities firms' research reports, Woongjin ThinkBig's annual sales forecast for this year is 655 billion KRW, expected to surpass last year's consolidated sales of 652.2 billion KRW. Industry analysts attribute this performance to increased demand for non-face-to-face learning due to COVID-19, driving sales of smart digital education integrated with edutech technology.

The number of Woongjin ThinkBig's smart digital education members increased from 430,000 last year to 460,000 this year. Among them, AI education members reached 130,000, a roughly sevenfold increase from about 19,000 last year. A Woongjin ThinkBig official explained, "Smart digital education sales integrated with edutech technologies such as AI account for 75% of total sales," adding, "As the adoption and utilization of AI learning services become widespread, the proportion of smart digital learning sales is expected to increase further."

Woongjin ThinkBig opened the door to smart education by launching 'Woongjin Book Club' in 2014, the first in Korea to combine reading and education with digital devices, and has been conducting AI machine learning analysis technology research since 2016. In 2018, it invested $5 million in the U.S. Silicon Valley edutech company Kidaptive and has continuously released AI learning products by securing proprietary AI education technology. The Edutech Research Institute, opened last year, employs over 150 specialized researchers who study and develop AI education programs.

An elementary school student is studying all subjects using the AI learning platform 'SmartAll'. Photo by Woongjin ThinkBig

Strengthening non-face-to-face learning services amid the spread of COVID-19 has also been notable. In August, Woongjin launched the non-face-to-face video management service 'Woongjin Smart All Together,' providing video learning coaching. In September, it signed business agreements with eye-tracking startup VisualCamp and video conferencing company Gurumi, focusing on advancing an AI learning platform that analyzes learners' learning behaviors and habits through eye-tracking.

Woongjin ThinkBig explained that its newly launched 'Smart All Middle School' program this month helps cultivate self-directed learning habits. Smart All Middle School is a comprehensive middle school subject learning program that uses a smart pad to manage school grades and access Daechi-dong academy lectures all at once through AI.

Additionally, Woongjin ThinkBig has acquired a total of 19 edutech patents, including 10 core AI education patents. The company states that the effectiveness of AI learning, which applies patented technology, has been verified through academic papers.

A Woongjin ThinkBig official said, "The AI learning platform is characterized by enhancing study efficiency through personalized learning, and its learning outcomes have been verified through technology patents and academic papers," adding, "We plan to release additional AI education services to provide the industry's highest level of AI education services with high reliability."

Woongjin ThinkBig 4-Year Revenue and Operating Profit. Graphic by Jin-kyung Lee, Designer

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.